About a year ago, I sat down and hammered out my first real attempt at a code of conduct for working with artificial intelligence. I called them my “First Principles of AI.” They were born from the messy, exhilarating, and often frustrating reality of being an early adopter – an entrepreneur trying to make sense of a technology that was rewriting the rules of business in real-time. Those seven principles were my anchor in a sea of hype and uncertainty. They served me well. But in the world of AI, a year is a lifetime. The ground has shifted beneath our feet, and what was once a solid foundation now requires reinforcement.
This 2026 edition is not a retraction. It is an evolution. The core truths remain, but they have been sharpened, refined, and expanded to meet the radical new reality of AI today. We have moved beyond simple chatbots and into a world of autonomous agents, of complex, multi-step workflows executed by AI Operators. The gap between a casual AI user and a strategic AI Operator is widening into a chasm. To stand on the right side of that divide, we need a new manifesto. These nine principles are that manifesto. They are my line in the sand, a guide for any entrepreneur who refuses to be left behind and is ready to build the future.
Key Takeaways
- The Operator is Key: Your skill in commanding AI is more critical than the specific model you use. However, strategic model selection is a hallmark of a true Operator.
- Structure is Command: Providing clear, structured instructions to AI isn’t about being rigid; it’s about eliminating guesswork and taking control of the outcome.
- Market Share is the Real Prize: The immediate threat isn’t an AI taking your job, but a competitor using AI to obsolete your business model.
- You are the Owner, AI is the Operator: Shift your mindset from using an “assistant” to owning a system. You set the vision; the AI executes it.
- Context is Your Responsibility: AI doesn’t “lie”; it reflects its training data. Your role is to provide the context and be the ultimate filter for truth.
- Build Systems, Not Just for Tasks: The greatest power of AI is unlocked when you move from one-off tasks to building repeatable, value-creating systems.
- Become an Operator, Not a User: The future belongs to those who can command AI to achieve specific business objectives, not those who passively use it for simple queries.
The 9 First Principles of AI: 2026 Edition
1. The Driver Matters More Than the Car, But a Great Driver Picks the Right Car for the Race.
You can put a novice behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, and they will almost certainly end up into a wall. Give a world-champion driver a reliable sedan, and they can still navigate a track with surprising skill. The same principle holds true for artificial intelligence. The single most important variable in the equation is you – the Operator. Your clarity of thought, your strategic intent, and your ability to communicate that intent are what transform a powerful tool into a world-changing force. A brilliant Operator can coax incredible results from a seemingly average AI model, while a novice will flounder even with the most advanced system on the planet.
This was the core of the original principle, and it remains the bedrock of my philosophy. However, the landscape has matured. A year ago, the differences between major models felt less pronounced for many common tasks. Today, the specialization is undeniable. We have models that excel at creative writing, others that are masters of code generation, and still others that can analyze data with breathtaking speed and accuracy. To ignore this is to engage in a form of operational malpractice.
What Changed: The original principle was, “The Driver Matters More Than the Car.” I’ve added the second clause – “But a Great Driver Picks the Right Car for the Race”—to reflect this evolution. It’s a move away from the simplistic idea that the tool is irrelevant. A great driver, a true Operator, doesn’t just know how to drive; they know which vehicle gives them the best chance of winning a specific race. Choosing the right AI model for the job is no longer a minor detail; it is a critical strategic decision that separates the amateur from the professional.
2. Structure is the Steering Wheel for AI.
Imagine getting into a car, closing your eyes, and just hoping you arrive at your desired destination. It’s absurd. You need to provide direction. You need to steer. A structured prompt is how you steer AI. It’s the mechanism through which you impose your will on the system, guiding it from a state of infinite possibility to a specific, desired outcome. This isn’t about “overthinking” or getting lost in complex formulas; it’s about providing absolute clarity. It’s about being the architect of the response you want to receive.
When you give the AI a clear role to play (e.g., “You are an expert copywriter specializing in direct-response marketing”), provide the necessary context (“Here is the product, here is the target audience”), state a specific objective (“Write three email subject lines that create a sense of urgency”), and give it a chance to ask clarifying questions, you are systematically eliminating guesswork. You are turning a vague conversation into a direct command. This is the difference between asking a passenger for directions and taking the steering wheel yourself. One is a request, the other is an act of control.
What Changed: The original metaphor was a rigid “formula.” I’ve updated it to a “steering wheel” because it’s a more accurate and empowering concept. A formula feels restrictive, a set of rules you must follow. A steering wheel, on the other hand, implies continuous, dynamic control. It’s about making constant, subtle adjustments to stay on course, responding to the feedback the AI gives you, and navigating the complexities of the task with precision and intent. It’s a shift from static instruction to active command.
3. AI Isn’t Coming for Your Job. It’s Coming for Your Market Share.
Let’s put one of the most tired, unproductive debates to rest. Stop worrying about whether an AI will one day have your job title. The conversation is a distraction from the real, immediate, and existential threat: a competitor, right now, is figuring out how to use AI to do the work of ten of your employees, at a fraction of the cost, and at a speed you cannot possibly match. The danger isn’t that you’ll be replaced by a robot; it’s that your entire business model will be rendered obsolete by an AI Operator who has mastered the art of leverage.
This is not a story of doom and gloom. It is the opposite. This technological shift represents the single greatest opportunity for value and wealth creation in modern history. The playing field is being reset. Legacy advantages are evaporating. A single, focused entrepreneur with a clear vision and a mastery of AI systems can now build and scale a business that would have required a team of hundreds just a few years ago. The question is not how you will protect your job; the question is how you will seize this unprecedented opportunity to take market share and build something extraordinary.
What Changed: The original framing was a direct response to the popular fear-mongering about job loss. This updated version reframes the entire debate. It shifts the focus from a defensive, personal fear to an offensive, strategic opportunity. It’s not about being replaced; it’s about being outmaneuvered in the marketplace. This is a much more urgent and accurate way to understand the stakes. It’s a call to action for entrepreneurs, not a lament for the old way of doing things.
4. AI Is Your Operator, But You’re Still the Owner.
The days of thinking of AI as a clever “assistant” are definitely over. That metaphor is now a relic. With the rise of agentic AI – systems capable of executing complex, multi-step tasks autonomously – we need a new mental model. Think of it this way: You are the founder and owner of your business. You have a vision, a mission, and a set of strategic goals. You have just hired the most competent, tireless, and resourceful Operator in the world to run the day-to-day functions of your enterprise.
You don’t tell this Operator how to do every little thing. You give them the high-level objective: “Launch a marketing campaign for our new product,” or “Analyze this sales data and identify our top three growth opportunities.” The Operator then breaks that down into sub-tasks, executes them, solves problems as they arise, and reports back with the result. You set the vision. You define the goals. You are ultimately responsible for the outcome. The AI is the Operator, executing your vision with a speed and precision that is simply not humanly possible. You are not a user anymore; you are the owner of an AI-powered system.
What Changed: This principle graduates the “assistant” metaphor to reflect the profound capabilities of modern, agentic AI. It introduces the powerful “Owner vs. Operator” framework, which is now central to how I think about and teach AI. It elevates your role from someone who simply uses a tool to someone who owns and directs a powerful operational system. This is a critical mindset shift for any entrepreneur who wants to truly leverage this technology.
5. AI Doesn’t Have a Truth Problem. It Has a Context Problem.
Yes, AI can be wrong. It can and does “hallucinate,” presenting fabricated information as fact. But it is crucial to understand why. The AI is not being malicious. It is not trying to deceive you. It is a reflection of its training data – a vast, messy, and often contradictory library of human knowledge and expression. It is a pattern-matching engine, and if the patterns it has learned are based on flawed or incomplete information, its output will be flawed and incomplete.
The problem isn’t that AI is a liar. The problem is that it lacks the lived experience and real-world grounding to distinguish between good information and bad. It has no inherent sense of truth. That is your job. As the Operator, you are the truth filter. You are the source of context. You provide the grounding facts, you critically evaluate the output, and you never, ever trust blindly. To accept AI output without verification is not just lazy; it is a complete abdication of your responsibility as the Owner.
What Changed: My original principle included the phrase “AI doesn’t lie,” which, while well-intentioned, was not precise enough. It opened the door to semantic arguments and missed the deeper point. The issue isn’t about the AI’s intent; it’s about its fundamental nature. This revised principle – “It Has a Context Problem” – is more defensible and useful. It correctly places the burden of verification and context-providing squarely on your shoulders, which is where it must belong.
6. AI Is a “What If” Engine, Not an “Easy Button.”
There was a time when the promise of AI was framed as simple convenience – an “easy button” for tedious tasks. While it’s true that AI can automate and simplify many workflows, to see that as its primary purpose is to miss the point entirely. The true power of AI is not in making easy things a little bit easier. It is in making profoundly hard things suddenly possible. It is a “what if” engine that shatters previous limitations on your time, resources, and creativity.
What if you could write and publish a deeply researched book in a single weekend? What if you could design, code, and launch a new software product in a day? What if you could perform an analysis that would have previously taken a team of consultants three months and cost you a quarter of a million dollars, and you could do it for less than the price of a pizza? These are not hypotheticals. This is what is possible right now. AI is not an easy button; it is a possibility engine. It is a tool for ambitious entrepreneurs who want to 10x their output, not just save 10% of their time.
What Changed: The “Easy Button” reference, while once relatable, feels dated. It speaks to an older, more limited view of AI. The shift to a “What If” Engine captures the new reality of agentic AI and autonomous systems. It focuses on the exponential, non-linear value creation that AI enables, moving the conversation away from incremental efficiency gains and toward radical new possibilities.
7. AI Is Not Inevitable. It’s an Invitation.
The debate is over. AI is not a far-off future technology. It is here, now, and it is already reshaping the world. The question is no longer “if,” but “how.” How will you engage with it? How will you leverage it to build, to create, to solve meaningful problems, and to deliver unprecedented value to your customers? To see AI as some inevitable tidal wave that will either crush you or carry you along is to adopt a passive, victim-like mindset. That is not the mindset of an entrepreneur.
AI is not a force of nature. It is a tool, and it is extending an open invitation to you. It is an invitation to step up, to learn the skills of an Operator, to think like a systems-architect, and to build the future you want to see. The choice is not to fight it or to be swept away by it. The choice is to accept the invitation and get to work, or to stand by and watch as others build the world around you. The future belongs to the builders.
What Changed: The original principle had a more passive, almost threatening tone. This revision transforms it into an active, empowering call to action. It aligns directly with my core belief in proactive, constructive, action-oriented entrepreneurship. It frames AI not as a threat to be weathered, but as an opportunity to be seized.
The 2 New Principles for 2026
The world of AI is not just moving fast; it’s expanding. As agentic capabilities have come online, two new foundational truths have emerged that are so critical they demand to be included as core principles.
8. Stop Doing Tasks. Start Building Systems.
This is the single biggest mistake I see entrepreneurs make every single day. They use AI for one-off, discrete tasks. They use it to write one email, to generate one image, to summarize one article. This is like using a modern supercomputer to do basic arithmetic. You are leaving 99% of its power on the table. The real, transformative power of AI is unlocked when you stop thinking in terms of tasks and start thinking in terms of systems.
A system is a repeatable, automated, or semi-automated process that creates value on its own. You don’t just use AI to write a single blog post; you build a content generation system that can research, outline, write, and schedule a month’s worth of high-quality articles. You don’t just use AI to answer one customer service ticket; you build an intelligent support system that can handle 80% of your customer inquiries automatically, freeing up your human team to focus on high-value interactions. An Operator doesn’t perform tasks; they design systems that run them. This is the leap from being an employee in your own business to being the architect of it.
Why it was added: The emergence of agentic AI makes this principle essential. A year ago, most AI use was, by necessity, task-based. Now, with tools that can execute multi-step workflows, the potential for system-building is the new frontier. This principle is a direct response to that new capability and a necessary guide for leveraging it effectively.
9. The Goal Is Not to Use AI. The Goal Is to Become an Operator.
Anyone can “use” AI. My kids use it to write silly poems. You can use it to get a recipe for lasagna or settle a bar bet. That is being a user. A user is a passive consumer of AI output. An Operator, on the other hand, is an active commander of AI capability. An Operator understands how to wield AI as a strategic weapon to achieve a specific business objective.
An Operator knows how to structure a prompt for maximum clarity and control (Principle 2). An Operator knows how to select the right model for the race (Principle 1). An Operator knows how to build systems, not just complete tasks (Principle 8). An Operator knows that they are the Owner, and the AI is the high-performance machine executing their vision (Principle 4). Users get answers. Operators get results. The future does not belong to the millions of casual AI users. It belongs to the focused, disciplined, and strategic class of AI Operators.
Why it was added: This principle is the capstone that ties all the others together. It defines the identity that every entrepreneur should be striving for in this new era. It clarifies the distinction between passive consumption and active command, which is the most important professional dividing line of the 21st century. Making this an explicit principle is a call to choose your side.
Why These Principles Matter Now More Than Ever
The pace of change in AI is not just fast; it’s accelerating. The developments of the past year alone have been staggering. We are living through a platform shift that will be more impactful than the internet and the smartphone combined. In this environment, winging it is not a strategy. Hope is not a plan. You need a set of core, guiding principles to navigate the chaos and harness the opportunity.
These nine principles are that guide. They matter now more than ever because the gap between the user and the Operator is becoming a life-or-death chasm for businesses. Those who remain mere users, dabbling with AI for simple tasks, will be rendered uncompetitive with shocking speed. Those who embrace the mindset of the Operator—the systems-building, strategically-minded owner – will build the next generation of world-changing companies. This is not hyperbole. This is the reality of the new economic landscape. These principles are your map and your compass.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is it too late to become an AI Operator?
A: Absolutely not. We are in the very early innings of this transformation. While the technology is moving fast, the number of true Operators is still incredibly small. The dedication to learn the principles and apply them with discipline will put you in the top 1% of entrepreneurs today.
Q: Do I need to be a programmer or a data scientist to be an Operator?
A: No. This is a common misconception. Being an Operator is about strategic thinking, clear communication, and systems design. It is not about writing code. The most powerful AI systems are now accessible through natural language. Your expertise in your own business is far more important than any technical background.
Q: Which AI model is the “best”?
A: This is the wrong question. As Principle 1 states, a great driver picks the right car for the race. The “best” model depends entirely on the task at hand. Part of your journey as an Operator is learning the strengths and weaknesses of different models and choosing the right tool for the job.
Q: How can I start building systems instead of just doing tasks?
A: Start small. Identify a recurring task in your business that takes up significant time. It could be creating social media content, responding to customer inquiries, or generating weekly reports. Then, instead of just using AI to do it once, ask yourself: “How can I design a repeatable process for this that AI can execute with minimal input from me?” Document the steps, refine the prompts, and build your first system.
Your Invitation
These principles are not just a blog post. They are the foundation upon which I am building my business and my life in this new era. They are my commitment to clarity, to action, and to building real, lasting value.
But they are not just for me. They are an invitation to you. An invitation to stop being a passive observer of this technological revolution and to become an active participant. An invitation to become an Operator.
If this manifesto resonates with you, don’t just read it. Absorb it. Debate it. Apply it. Share it with another entrepreneur who needs to hear this message. Bookmark it and come back to it when you feel lost in the noise. The future is not something that happens to us. It is something we build, together. It’s time to get to work.
